Amy's Story: Kid's View
by NorthStar65
Summary: Another companion story to 'Amy's Story'. Rated T for some mature themes.


**Author's Note: ** This story is as dark as the other two in the series. Writing with Kid's "voice" was even more difficult than I thought it would be. I feel as if I have fallen short of really capturing it correctly but I hope you will forgive me and still enjoy the story. Thank you for reading. This is rated T+, again, for some mature themes.

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There were some days, like today, that I could just flatten Heyes. I wasn't really mad at him but the irritation from his brilliant plan - "Let's head through Bison Gap" he says, then the rain starts, followed by the hail. Sheesh! I'm used to his plans so I try and shrug off the irritation with him but then we go out this morning to try and shoot something for dinner but his constant yapping scares off everything. 'Champeen Tracker" - pffftt! Someone had to have gagged him so he could earn that distinction.

We finally head back to camp and of course he starts needling me - "I thought you were such a good shot. Don't seem to be.". So of course I start fuming and he gets all… all… don't even know how to describe that. I do what I always do when he starts in with it - keep one ear on him and focus the rest of my senses outwards.

Of course I see the horse first and then when I point it out to him he starts in with the dumb remarks. Somedays, I could just flatten him.

Didn't really notice anything special about the girl laying there except for the blood everywhere. Heyes seemed to hang back at first and then he wanted to carry her back to the campsite. I told him we could get her on the horse but he seemed determined. I went on with our horses, hers had been startled and ran off when we approached.

By the time he showed up I had moved my bedroll and was starting the fire. He wanted to put her on his bedroll so I moved it over. When he set her down it all became clear - she looked so much like his mother, my aunt Helen.

I was putting on the coffee when she started pleading with him - "Please... I'm sorry... please don't.". I turned to see Heyes gently brush a lock of hair away. I ain't never seen him like this. Sure I've seen him show a softer side to a saloon girl, a lady on a street that needed help, the typical things you did for the fairer sex but this was very different. We didn't talk too much about our feelings towards women. Yeah, he was always needling me about being the knight in shining armor but he knew why, of all people he would know why.

I moved without thinking towards the canteen, handed it to Heyes. Stepped back and felt that day roll over me like the clouds did earlier that week. We had seen the smoke and started running, I was running so hard my chest hurt, the sound of my breathing in my ears blocked out the noise of my feet. I knew but … well, I just couldn't let it be true and then it was. I saw my oldest sister first, didn't understand it. My pa's body was covering Emma. Ma lay not far from Rachel. I didn't understand any of it. Where was Sean? Where was Kate? I couldn't look anymore. I just remember them finding me next to my ma. There was nothing to cover any of them with. They had burnt the house down, the barn, the horses… I didn't understand any of it.

For a long time we didn't talk about any of it. At the school there were so many boys that had similar stories that you didn't want to bring it up, didn't want to hear about it. I missed them so much.

I put on some dinner and sat and talked. Focused on the girl but my chest felt like it was in a vise. I wanted to stop thinking about them. My older sisters - Elizabeth, Emma and Rachel. I could see them in that girl and I didn't understand.

So many things could be said to Heyes without ever really saying it at all. He knew. The look in his eyes told me that. The look in my eyes told him that.

On my way back from the stream I stopped to check on her. She looked so small, so scared, so hurt.

I lay down to sleep but it wouldn't stop. I guess seeing them like that, at such a young age made me always want to protect a woman. I can remember the first time I had to use my gun in order to rob some folks. A scream from a woman made me almost run right then and there. Chet Atterly punched me so hard after we had made the get away I almost - almost gave up being an outlaw. Decided after that to only point my gun at the men. Stood to reason, instill the fear in them and the women would play along.

I guess I slept. Woke up to find Heyes staring into the fire. Times like this I really worried about him. Whenever he got to thinking about those times it could go one of two ways: he'd get excessively happy, chatty or he'd get quiet. Either one wasn't good. I had seen him both ways, more times than I cared to count. The worst was back at the school. I had received a beating for defending a boy younger than myself against an older boy. Heyes got real happy for a coupla days and then right before breakfast one day he just… well, it scared the hell out of me. Beat the teacher that had beat me, pretty sure he would of killed him but something stopped him. We left him there in the hall and ran.

Without exchanging a word we swapped the watch. What was there to say? We had talked about it so much when we left the school there was no other way to say it. I knew my watch wouldn't be long, Heyes wouldn't sleep long. I was tired when he woke up and knowing he would be focused on the girl and that we could possibly encounter some trouble I forced the thoughts from my head and let the sleep take me.

I force my eyes open at the sound of her voice. "Mornin' Joshua, Miss." He gets up to pour himself another cup of coffee. I have a seat next to her, there's a sadness about her that is a little overwhelming. I try but… I go and help Heyes with breakfast, it's easier.

I tilt my head at him as he asks to take her to the creek. You can see she's not real sure of what Heyes is asking from her. Her eyes flick up and she gets that look like a horse does when it's trapped in a burning barn. He's apologizing. I shake my head. Not at what he's done, but at all of it.

I go to the saddle bags and find a shirt in his bags and a pair of pants in mine. She needs to get out of them things she's in. I take them to the creek. Approach quite so as not to startle her. She seems to have gotten comfortable with his presence so I just pass him the clothes and leave. I go and see if I can't find her horse and also to make sure we are still the only ones out here. Anyone that would beat a girl like that isn't likely to just let her go. I'd seen enough of those saloon owners in the smaller towns where orphaned girls and some that didn't have much say in the matter where employed in them. We may take a drink and play some cards but usually just gave a girl a little of what we won. The horse wasn't far, it had wandered towards our camp through the night. I led it back. No signs of anyone else. That was a good thing.

They come back from her cleaning up. She doesn't look very good. What was he thinking letting her walk? She lays down to rest up and promptly falls asleep. We start on cleaning up the camp and discuss what to do. Not much to it, get out and away from Saddle Springs and what ever is chasing her - and Heyes.

I put her up on the horse with him. She's so light. No wonder why he didn't object to carrying her. It hurts to see her in so much pain. The wet in his eyes tell me he's hurting just as much. I scatter the dirt around the camp and swipe away all but one set of the horse prints until we reach the stream. I leave her horse there. As I let her clothes drift down the stream my thoughts are carried away with them. I see my sisters, my parents, my younger brother their faces clouded by smoke. I brush at my face, feel my teeth grinding against each other so hard, I force myself to breath out . Killing someone isn't done lightly but the anger clutching at my chest, grinding in my jawbone, makes me wish her pursuers and my family's killers would ride up right now. I get on my horse and follow across the stream. Dismount and again swipe at the prints our horses leave. Hoping we can mislead them for a little while, long enough to get her to town.

We ride out for a few hours. Not enough to put some real good distance between us and Saddle Springs but when Heyes waves his hat at me to stop it will have to do. She looks bad, he looks awful.

"Miss?"

She blinks open her eyes. That gaze that I saw on my sisters face that day when the smoke choked the air, is there. And then in a rush she tells us her name and that she's just nineteen. I can't help but smile, the hope that she will make it wells up. I take the girl from him and start for the stream. I look at him and he just gives his head a small shake. It's wearing on him.

I set her down and see the blood covering her again. Seen plenty of men gunned down, watched 'em bleed out but this, this I didn't understand. That well of hope dried up.

She gets sick, can barely turn her head to clear herself and then she's crying. That cry that comes from children that have just lost their families. I don't know what else to do for her. Everything stops.

Heyes is there and then she's telling what happened before she jumped on a horse and rode in desperation towards hope. She found us and I feel small. She smiles at us, no more tears roll down her cheeks. I step back from all of it. My guts are rolling. A man most often deserves to die, this girl didn't.


End file.
